House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) told Anderson Cooper on Tuesday that he’ll “get to the bottom” of “Wide Receiver” — the “gun walking” program that took place during the George W. Bush administration.
“What we do know about Wide Receiver somewhat is: very small amount of weapons, much more intensive following,” Issa said. “But we will in fact get to the bottom of whether or not this practice might have began, in a smaller way, under the Bush watch. We’re not putting it past any administration and giving anyone a pass.”
Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley have been at the forefront of Congress’ investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. Issa was on CNN to discuss whether he thought Attorney General Eric Holder lied to Congress about his knowledge of the Fast and Furious program. The Justice Department has maintained that Holder was “consistent and truthful” in his testimony. Issa said that Holder is either lying or incompetent.
“I certainly believe that he either misrepresented the facts or he’s sufficiently incompetent that he didn’t know what was in his weekly briefings,” Issa said. “I support the fact that the Attorney General cannot investigate himself.”
More on the Bush administration’s “Operation Wide Receiver” here.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.